No. 123 as he crossed the finish line on the north side of Boylston Street, running 26 miles in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 25 seconds.

But the excitement of placing 30th in a marathon that had 27,000 registered runners was short-lived, as less than two hours later two explosions near the finish line turned the event into a deadly nightmare.

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"I went from being so happy and running my best time to feeling so bad about what happened to other runners. It looked like a war zone. People were struggling to reach their family members, and cell phone service was interrupted. There were ambulances, police and helicopters. I was a block and a half away from where the bombs went off," he said.

Mindel, now a resident of New London, Conn., and five other members of a team from the Willow Street Athletic Club, based in the Capital District, traveled to the marathon with Mindel's father, Mark Mindel of Ballston Lake. They stayed at a Courtyard Marriott in Natick, Mass., at the eight-mile point along the marathon route. The hotel is conveniently close to the "T" -- the Boston rail line, which has a stop close to the finish line of the race.

On Wednesday, Mark Mindel related the events from Monday: "I got up, dropped everyone at the 'T' and drove back to Natick to watch them go by at the eight-mile mark. I got on the train and met them at the designated meeting point for family and friends to reconnect with the runners after crossing the finish line."

They went to bar a couple of blocks away to have lunch and to celebrate that Scott's time.

"Scott was getting calls, texts and emails from friends and was interviewed, so the rest of us left to take the train back to Natick. Scott stayed behind with his friend Patrick to finish his lunch," Mark Mindel said.

The senior Mindel was headed to the train when he heard a loud blast.

"I'd never heard anything that loud. I thought, 'It's Patriot's Day, they fired off a cannon to celebrate.' Then I heard the second blast. I knew something was wrong," he said.

Mark Mindel got on the train and saw another rider with an iPad looking at the headlines and terrifying images. He tried to reach his son.

"Scott's cell phone was not responding. It was about an hour before I knew he was unharmed," Mark said.

He was finally able to get through by texting his son.

"We didn't feel the blast," Scott said. "We were watching the end of a Red Sox game and then the television was full of the story. My friend had posted photos of us on Facebook at the finish line, so that was all anybody knew. We posted again to say we were safe. We had planned on going to lunch at the bar right by the finish line and changed our minds. We would have walked right into it."

Both father and son were overwhelmed with their proximity to disaster.

"It didn't hit me until today," Mark said Wednesday. "I had gone into work the next day and saw the carnage on television. I was alternately sad and depressed for what people went through. I listen to Mad Dog Radio and like to call into Adam Schein's sports show. I called in and I guess it was cathartic for me. There I was, on the air and he asks me how I felt about our having such a close call. I broke down on the air."

Both father and son have already decided to attend the 2014 Boston Marathon.

"Whether I run or go as a spectator," Scott said, "I wouldn't miss it."